Who is the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition?

Our mission is to reverse the trend of mass incarceration in Colorado. We are a coalition of nearly 7,000 individual members and over 100 faith and community organizations who have united to stop perpetual prison expansion in Colorado through policy and sentence reform.

Our chief areas of interest include drug policy reform, women in prison, racial injustice, the impact of incarceration on children and families, the problems associated with re-entry and stopping the practice of using private prisons in our state.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Of Course if Ft. Collins paid him for the time he did, he'd have less to worry about..(CNN) -- Tim Masters squarely blames Fort Collins, Colorado, police and prosecutors for his inability to land gainful employment and for his not having a wife and kids at this stage in his life. ">In 1987, Masters became the prime suspect in the slaying of Peggy Hettrick, a 37-year-old found in a field near his house. Among the reasons police said they focused on Masters was that he failed to report the body after he found it and his childhood drawings and stories suggested he was fixated on death.

Masters was convicted of murder in 1999, but a judge last year threw out the conviction and released him from prison, citing new evidence that did not implicate Masters. Masters now has a lawsuit pending against several police officers, ex-prosecutors and the city.

The city of Fort Collins has asked a federal judge to dismiss the case.

Now 37, Masters sat down for a phone interview with a CNN reporter who covered his case and subsequent release. He said he still holds a grudge against the police and prosecutors who put him behind bars. Watch Masters the day after his 2008 release »

He's living in Greeley, Colorado, and doesn't get back to Fort Collins much, but he does love traveling. Most notably, he's traveled to Amsterdam, Netherlands, to appear on a talk show with Richard and Selma Eikelenboom, the Dutch forensic scientists who discovered the DNA evidence that ultimately freed Masters.

Things can be tough sometimes, but anything is better than prison, Masters said of his first year as a free man since being imprisoned.

CNN: How have things been in the year since your release?

Masters: It's a struggle to earn enough money to pay my bills and everything, make a living. Other than that, life is good.

4 comments:

Anonymous
said...

I knew Tim while in the Navy at China Lake and this horrible thing could not have happened to a nicer guy! It's painful to read what has happened to him knowing that he is a big sweetheart - shy and quiet! They truly did take away a lot more then time. I never saw him with a girlfriend or even hanging out with the rest of us at the bar for thirsty thursdays or any other day or at any other party. I feels sorry for him and am angry that a jury could put this decent guy away for a horrible crime based on such little evidence!

I knew Tim while in the Navy at China Lake and this horrible thing could not have happened to a nicer guy! It's painful to read what has happened to him knowing that he is a big sweetheart - shy and quiet! They truly did take away a lot more then time. I never saw him with a girlfriend or even hanging out with the rest of us at the bar for thirsty thursdays or any other day or at any other party. I feels sorry for him and am angry that a jury could put this decent guy away for a horrible crime based on such little evidence!

I knew Tim while in the Navy at China Lake and this horrible thing could not have happened to a nicer guy! It's painful to read what has happened to him knowing that he is a big sweetheart - shy and quiet! They truly did take away a lot more then time. I never saw him with a girlfriend or even hanging out with the rest of us at the bar for thirsty thursdays or any other day or at any other party. I feels sorry for him and am angry that a jury could put this decent guy away for a horrible crime based on such little evidence!